New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-08-21
DYING WITH HER DAUGHTER
TERRIBLE DREAD or AN INSANE ASYLUM
LETTERS WRITTEN TO MISS WEED WHO HAD
BEFRIENDED THE UNHAPPY XoMEN

| story on Thursday. Four sets of rooms commnni
Gated with that hail. and the door leading to one Of
the rear flats was locked Mrs. MalvIna Payne. an
nfrm widow, and her daughter Anna, had lived in
the rear rooms for nearly three years. They had
not sought the society of other inmates of the
house, but had kept themselves aloof from their
neIghbors. 1t was known that Mrs Payne had
lately become demented. The bad odor came from
Mrs. PayDe's rooms. 1t became so much worse on
Friday that complaint was made to the poice A
policeman who was sent to make an investigation
was told that Mrs. Payne and her daughter prob
ably had gone into the country and had left some
food to spoil in the rooms. They had been 70
leave the house together on Monday afternoon and
other inmates of the house had not seen them
turn. The police contented themselves with send
ing complaint to the Board of Health
Yesterday morning the smell was still worse and
some of the tenants complained to the landlord,
Hermann Valentine. of No. 10 Chares-st He went
to the tenement thouse and climbed to the frees
cape IN front OF the windows of Mrs. Payues
rooms. BY turning the closed blinds he was
able to look inside the rooms On q bed in
the room nearest tho windows he saw tho
bloated and discoored bodies of Mrs. Payne aud
her daughter Without attempting to enter tho
rooms Mr. Valentine went directly to the Charles
Street Police Station and reported what he had
seen. Captain Copeland and two policemen went
UO LHe nOubc auu lOrceu Opeu tue uallslOOTs N
oyerpo wering stencil at first prevented the pohes
from entering, and 1t issued from tine rooms aud
spread through the house i'll few minutes. II
was not until q liberal quantity OF disnectaafa
had been thrown into the rooms, and the rear
windows had been opened to admit the air, that
the men could enter and make an examination.
The bodies of the two women presented sL0ek-
ing spectacle both were bloated and
fast decompOsing. Patches of dried
blood were upon the bodies, tho
bed and the carpet of the bedroom. On chaiI
beside the bed was razor with blOOdstains on II
aud bottle which had contained iaudanum The
razor had been used to sever the arteries I'D inc
woTan's arms 1t evident from the posIttDn
of the bodies and the wounds that the mother hah
done the cutting The daughters body lay In an
attitude of repOse ana her left arm, which was
next to her hers body. was, cut deeply igst
above the elbow on the inside. 1t looked as II sls
was under the Influence OF the laudannm when she
OF the wound. Mrs. Paynes body was in an att
tude of agony. She bad cut herself IN Toe
right arm and had laid the razor %
the chair close to her side of the bed. There she
had bled to death while she clasDcd her dyiog
daughter in her arms. 1t was soon made evident to
the police that the women had planned 10 die To-
gether. Beside the razor on the chair was an su.
yelope addressed to Miss Harriet A. Weed, Of s.
IL West Twelfth-st Some blood had been siat-
tered on it. Captain Copeland opeued the enyelogs
and read the following in Miss Paynes hand
writing:
To Miss II A. WEED
DEAR FRigsD: II anything happens that we, both
found dead will you that are buried in the baay
Rural Cemetery In oaken caskets Mr James A. BrIas.
sl9l in the Blocker Bank for Savings have
and the Dry Dock in Thirdavs These amounts will laT
all expenses and what Is left after the funeral expenses
to be spent in taking care OF the cemetery ht
in Albany. We have pipched and saved
now. We both helpless to our mlnds, We
are lit for ourselves. The contents OF oar
house to be given to the poor Thi. s the request Of
and hor mother. (signeD MALvrSA NJ. wPArsE,
fell the sisters Of Trinity Hospital goodbye, partie
larry Sisters Mary Esther and Ernestine ;, ~
Miss Ingmre. IL Miss Weed is not able to attend
Tsd T yo and m SEND ndV our to Albany
graph to j. A. Brant of the Albany Rural Cemetery and
he i'll attend to all There are means suhclent TO pay
We th Of us my mother and insane and 1," .s
Toll relatives where lay Our relatives are HeGy
Martyr. No. "a sselye-ave.. Cleveland, Onto; sue n
Talbot. Wloughby. Lake County ONO Julia A. NAhs-
field. Chateaugay Franklin County, n. y.
Mrs. Payne had written the following:
DO please grant these last requests and may GOD or.
20 care for us You and your dear father have
only friends Oh dear Miss Weed, do please hsss
ling daughter prefers death to being separated from her
mother We worship each other We cannot be sep
aated My darling almost raving mad Forgive, or-
give us, for only God knows how we sufe-
The rooms in which the women had lived were
decently bat, plainly furnished. The nelghbors
teacher in the public school at Houston and SAT-
folk sts, earning about So per week, while ths
W1en she became too feeble to work FIom
Doremus, of No. % Chares-st., who talked with
Captain Copeland about the dead woman, 1t Vas xs
learned that Mrs Payne had been a widow Tor
nearly twenty years. Her husband, warren l..
Payne. was shoemaker in Albany and he died
Cemetery Genet 70 in is45 and hi. body was placed in
the lot. Mrs. Pavne was left with two childrso,
her Oldest being enry L. Payne, q druggist Of No.
the New York Hospital in August. 1885, Henry
was a shiftless man and did little before his death
to help his mother IhurlSw Weed gaSf some Rslo
Harriet employed her at times paying her lberaliy
for sewing. Mrs Payne and her daughter came tn
regard Miss Weed as their benefactress and oe's
friend. NJ
About month ago Mrs. Payne went to the Trim
| ity Hospital to undergo painful operation AIte.
she soon showed signs of insanity. Two weeks ago
she sent to Bellevue Hospital insane. but sns
only stayed there one sor niGnt; Mss TfeS S
Ingmire. interceded with superintendent Blake to
keep Mrs Payne from being sent TO the City Insane
Asylum On the following Tuesday Miss lngmlIe
talked with Mrs Payne and her daughter advising
q commitment of the old woman to the Middletown
Asylum. Mrs. Payne said she was wiling 20 90
Miss Ingmlre: Rather than go TO Wards Island
Will die with hy daughter. We will die together
sI sson sstnS her @oher
to Middetown, and Mrs; Payne spent
the afternoon with Miss IuCmire at Miss
Weeds house. Miss Ingmire afterward understood
that the commitment might be obtained IN tew
days She went to the tenement-house on the Sat
urday following and found Mrs. Payne's rooms
closed. On that day Mrs. Payne went with her
daughter TO Mr.. DOremus, their former andlord.
and asked him to draw up will. He put them on.
saying that will was not needed. as Miss fayne
would inherit her mothers property
MY daughter NAV not outlIve me- Mrs. Payne
remarked" The women had then decided TO die
together. They returned home and did not ieavd
their roops again except to take short walk on
Monday evening.
| Miss Weed returned from Rochester and on lass
IN fauampnf
Miss Ingmiro to visit Mrs. Payne. They noticed
the odor which came from the closed rooms, but
away from home. Miss Ingmire recalled what Mrs.
PAYNE had said about dying with her daughter,
but Miss Weed thought the daughter could not
have consented to such plan. Upon oeing in-
fnrmnd of tho Mnmeu's death Yesterday. Mss